“Little Foxes” at the Classic
By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor –
“This play is one of the reasons we wanted to start the Classic Theater in the first place,” said actor/director Anthony Ciaravino, one of the co-founders of the now established thespian company located in the Deco District. “It is so timely; this play could be written today, that’s how relevant it is. It’s about the dangers of capitalism that destroys families and runs over people, especially poor people.”
He is talking about the Classic’s final production of the 2018-19 season, “The Little Foxes” by Lillian Hellman, which was first staged in 1939. “Hellman was such a pioneer, writing family dramas much before Arthur Miller or Tennessee Williams, but her work is not produced all that often,” added Ciaravino, who is pleased that the Classic’s show is directed by a woman director, Melissa Utley, in her first collaboration with the company.
“The Little Foxes” opens Friday and runs through May 26.
The story is set in the South in the early years of the 20th century and focuses on the adult Hubbard siblings – brothers Benjamin and Oscar, and their sister Regina – a greedy, unscrupulous bunch, whose only goal is to enrich themselves at all costs. When Regina’s husband, the older, sickly Horace Giddens, refuses to invest in a cotton mill that the Hubbard brothers badly want to develop to take advantage of cheap labor – and become rich – the brothers, with the help of Oscar’s son Leo, resort to theft of Horace’s bonds, with Regina’s approval. Their scheming backfires and the consequences are ultimately pretty disastrous for the entire family.
The role of the frustrated, angry Regina, who, like most women of her time, must depend on men to support her, has been played by a number of famous actresses over the years, including the role’s originator Tallulah Bankhead, Bette Davis (in the movie version), Elizabeth Taylor and most recently Laura Linney. In the Classic’s production Regina will be portrayed by the company’s artistic/executive director Kelly Hilliard Roush, who, we predict, will match all those divas’ stage presence with ease and panache. Her brothers are played by equally accomplished actors Byrd Bonner and Ciaravino.
“I am very lucky to have the cast that I have,” said Utley, who appreciates the opportunity she has been given by the Classic Theater, “As they say, 80 percent of directing is casting. They are a stellar group of seasoned actors with terrific stage chemistry.”
For actors, playing unsympathetic characters presents some difficulties but it can also be a great creative opportunity. Ciaravino, who is Oscar Hubbard in the show, acknowledges that it is pretty hard to like his character. “This guy is all for himself, and he’s abusive to his wife, sexist and racist. How do you play him? That’s my challenge. We’ll see if I can make him human rather than just a mustache-twirling villain.”
Another outstanding veteran actor, John O’Neill portrays the wheelchair-bound Horace Giddens; Christi Eanes is Oscar’s long suffering, alcoholic wife, Birdie; and Alyx Gonzales appears as Regina and Horace’s daughter Alexandra.
Utley said she tried to introduce a little levity in the action by emphasizing the comedic aspects in some of the confrontation scenes, and she and Roush worked together to make Regina more three-dimensional rather than focus only on her obsession with money. Regina’s humanity finally shows when she realizes the price she has paid for her scheming and betrayals, noted the director. And then she added in a lighter tone: “Watching all that scheming unravel, that’s where the fun is.”
“The Little Foxes,” May 3-26, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays; Classic Theater, 1924 Fredericksburg Rd.; for tickets call 210-589-8450 or go to www.classictheatre.org 0